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Month: December 2007

What to say about 2007? It has been a wonderful year that I enjoyed. There has been ups and downs this year.

January: A favorable moment that I can tell was on January 10, 2007. I finally bought a Nintendo Wii. Here’s the story, I waited for the whole morning at Carlingwood Mall and then I was close to leaving the mall until I saw the Purolator guy and then I finally got it. Due to my dumb thinking, I didn’t go back home and instead went to Carleton University. I was totally worried having to carry the Wii but it was humourous too because I was carrying like a goof.

February: One “defining” moment was February 12, 2007 when the lion dance troupe had a performance at the National Gallery of Canada. It was for the 18th Annual CAO Sweetheart Lunch for the Arts. What happened later on was that the Mayor of Ottawa, Larry O’Brien made a bombshell announcment that he wouldn’t be funding the arts in Ottawa. The new media made a big deal the next day when our lion dance troupe “scared” the Mayor. It was unbelievable that one of the lions was on the front page of the Ottawa newspapers.
Another thing was that I didn’t know Jim Bryson (Amanda Putz’s favorite musician) was at the event. I will explain Amanda Putz from the September section.

Aside from that, I finally went to Winterlude on February 18, 2007. It was the final day of Winterlude and I went along with my friends to Jacques Cartier Park in Gatineau, Quebec. Before walking down to the park, we had a tough time walking from Byward Market to the park. It was pretty brutal. All in all, it was fun going to Jacques Cartier Park. Relive back a few images on here, http://www.flickr.com/photos/lenny-wu/sets/72157601201590386/

April: Not much happened in March and semi-fast forward to April. A memorable moment was on April 28, 2007. That was when I stayed up so late to finish up a take-home exam. How is it memorable? Well, it was the final assignment to end off my term in university. I was kept company and listened to music all over in Hong Kong. I messaged Alyson Hau to play “All Good Things (Come to an End)” by Nelly Furtado because the song meant that all good things come to an end as I finally finish my studies at Carleton University. It was bittersweet to be finally done with university.

May: The only moment was on May 31, 2007 and it was the sold out Feist concert at Bronson Centre. I got a good view at the concert and the only downside was that my brother could not use the D-SLR camera. For whatever reason, I guess it had to do with copyrights because D-SLR cameras bring out a perfect image. All in all, it was an amazing concert and one of the precursors to getting into Canadian independent music.

The only downer was seeing a very close family friend pass away. It was in early May.

June: The big day happened and it was on June 12, 2007. That was when I had my convocation at Carleton University. The worse part was that I was sweating from waiting at the old gym at Carleton and to make things worse, the Field House was not cold too. It was nice to shake hands with astronaut and Carleton University chancellor, Marc Garneau. I finally get my degree in Political Science and a minor in Canadian Studies.

There were the usual things I have done like the lion dance performance at the Dragon Boat Race Festival in Ottawa. I also checked out Montreal on June 23, 2007 and I haven’t been to Montreal since 2002 for Just For Laughs.

July: July 15, 2007 was when I went to the Kanye West concert at Cisco Ottawa Bluesfest. It was a great concert but it was also a rainy night and ended up getting my hat soaked. It was great to hear old and new songs like “Touch The Sky” and “Stronger”.

September: Starting off September, on the 2nd of that month, I went to Camp Fortune Aerial Park. It was a fun and challenging having to climb and swing down wires. I thought it was scary when gliding but overall it was just fun. Photos on this link, http://www.flickr.com/photos/lenny-wu/sets/72157601823891560/

On September 11, 2007, I finally met Amanda Putz at the CBC Ottawa Broadcast Centre for the second FUSE taping but I missed the “season premiere” taping from a week earlier. Why is it significant? Well, I got in contact with her via MySpace in early 2007. Originally, I did not know she left to Hong Kong in Summer of 2006. So, I left an email to CBC Bandwidth but it was too late. In the email, I told her to meet up this person in Hong Kong. What did surprise me in early 2007 was that Amanda did get in contact with Alyson Hau as I was skimming through her MySpace. I was totally astounded because it felt coincidental that Amanda would get to meet Alyson Hau. Amanda got to host a indie show by the same name from CBC Radio One (excluding Toronto on Saturdays) on RTHK Radio 3 for several months. The thing is that I am used to her as a radio host but it’s different that she is a radio DJ as well as she is also a host for CBC Radio 3. Prior to her return to Ottawa, she was one of the benefactors to getting me into Canadian independent music. Another thing I forgot is that Amanda Putz is a Saskatchewanian. Since September 2006, I encountered a few graduate Journalism students from Saskatchewan. It was a feeling different having to hang out with them because I was the lone person from Ottawa and see a different perspective from those amazing people. I think Amanda Putz is the last person from Saskatchewan that I have encountered. Aside from the Saskatchewan Rough Riders winning the 2007 Grey Cup, it is time to end my experience of knowing people from Saskatchewan. Overall, she is a great person and without you informing about CBC Radio 3 on the Internet, I wouldn’t get into Canadian indie music. It was also nice to have you mention me on-air during the Web Radio broadcast.

Rounding out October through December:
– Several lion dance performance from Double Ten to the Canadian Olympic Committee.
– Went to several CBC Fuse tapings and one memorable taping was at the Black Sheep Inn in Wakefield, QC. Maybe Smith and Christine Fellows. [Flick link]
– The Acorn concert at Barrymore’s Music Hall. A funny moment was when I was sitting and watching, Amanda Putz taps my shoulder and she was taking photos.
– Ending off 2007 (December 31, 2007) was going to Major’s Hill Park for the fireworks at 18:57pm. [Flickr Link from New Year’s Eve]

Happy 2008 Everyone!

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Of all the Christmas programming throughout December, I was more than pleased to watch the DoctorWho Christmas Special 2007. The episode title called “Voyage of the Damned” and it also guest-starred Kylie Minogue. What did I think of the episode? As spoiler free as I can be, it was another excellent Christmas special for the Time Lord but it was last time that I felt sad watching the series since “The Girl In The Fireplace” from Series 2 in 2006. What a way to feel bummed out during the Christmas holiday in 2007.
How did I think of Kylie Minogue? She was great and overall, I found the cast and story to be strong on the third Christmas special.
I was more happy to watch Doctor Who Confidential at Christmas 2007 because they played clips from KylieMinogue‘s hit songs. Songs like “Can’t Get You Out of My Head”, “I Should Be So Lucky” and “The Locomotion.”

Here’s another image from the Christmas special. I hope it is spoiler-free. Man, how many times has the Tenth Doctor snogged? :)

I hope to get another year-end entry which will be about my favorite moments that I have done.

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2007 has been an interesting year for music. Legal downloads from Apple iTunes, Amazon and other retailers continue to dominate the way music is being sold to the consumers. What else was groundbreaking was Apple finally come out with DRM-free songs. The only major record label to sign on to iTunes Plus was EMI.
– Other notable happenings were Kanye West’s Graduation versus 50 Cent’s Curtis on September 11, 2007. Kanye West beat 50 Cent in album sales.
– The horrendous performance by Britney Spears from the 2007 MTV VMAs, ’nuff said on Britney. Not going to explain about her current album.
– Madonna leaving Warner Bros. Music to Live Nation Inc.
– Live Earth happened on July 7, 2007.
– Feist becoming a surprise in the United States and internationally.
– The Spice Girls reunite and have a comeback concert.

Concerts I attended were Feist in May and Kanye West at Bluesfest in July. Those two concerts were amazing. Feist was one of the benefactors to getting into Canadian independent music. Kanye West was just fun but it happened in the soaking rain.
Near the end of the year, I enjoyed Canadian indie artists concerts like The Acorn and The Russian Futurists. Even though, tickets for big name artists are expensive, I found that going to a smaller venue like Barrymore’s Music Hall felt more worth it. I felt more appreciative to Canadian indie artists.

My Top Songs of 2007 (Links from Wikipedia);

1. Umbrella by Rihanna. I chose Umbrella because it was 10 weeks on the UK singles chart and that I got hooked to the song. Plus, people kept singing “ella ella eh eh eh” where to the point it got annoying and overplayed. I even annoyed Alyson Hau on occasion.

2. Stronger by Kanye West. Even though the song was sampled from Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger by Daft Punk. I found the song catchy and smart coming from Kanye West. I also liked the music video which featured Daft Punk and R&B singer, Cassie. Plus, it was filmed in Japan and gave a nod to the anime, Akira.

3. 1234 by Feist. Nuff said on this song because Feist accomplished her popularity. The iPod nano TV ad elevated her status in the United States.

4. No One by Alicia Keys. I know this song is almost a latecomer to 2007. It is still a great song coming from Alicia Keys.

7. When You’re Gone by Avril Lavigne. This power ballad song grew on me when I was in Toronto in the middle of August. It was played a lot and it was the time when Avril Lavigne went to Hong Kong.

8. Makes Me Wonder by Maroon 5. I still like this song because it seemed fresh coming from Maroon 5. It was also big jumper when it debuted on Billboard’s Hot 100 Singles chart.

9. My Moon My Man by Feist. This is my favorite song because it was the first released on The Reminder. The video made it one of my favorites to watch because Feist is dancing through the flat escalators.

Favorite Canadian Indie Songs. It’s in no particular order. Since September, I have been enjoying Canadian independent songs from CBC Radio 3. I just hope none of the hosts are reading this as I’ve become fans of them. You know who you are. Hmmm, one being a guest host and the other being based in Ottawa.